Girl Meets Doubt
by RadicalT0aster
Summary: After Riley is invited to the party for unpopular classmates, for the first time she begins to question her worth to her best friend. As she struggles to find herself, will she falter and let others decide for her? My take on "Girl Meets Popular."


_**Summary: After Riley is invited to the party for unpopular classmates, for the first time she begins to question her worth to her best friend. My take on "Girl Meets Popular."**_

**Girl Meets Doubt**

Riley's head spun and her thoughts whirled into an incoherent jumble of confusion and as she speedily fled the hallways of John Quincy Adams Middle School, her calves beginning to burn as she urged her legs to carry her further, faster, quicker. The hallways were empty at this hour, and the dimmed florescent lighting and lack of slamming lockers did nothing to alleviate her mood.

The chilly evening New York air met her face in a breeze as she finally reached the double-door exit and promptly turned to her left, wishing the subway entrance was closer rather than farther. She couldn't quite remember having experienced a feeling like the one she had just felt; the odd feeling of denial yet complete understanding and utter belonging. It was odd, she thought, so very very odd.

Riley's legs were moving on their own now, whisking her down the sidewalk, galloping down the subway stairs, through the turnstiles and down the twisting hallways to the platform that would take her home. _Of course Maya wouldn't be invited to such a gathering_, Riley's thoughts continued, becoming jumbled as they seemed to tangle themselves together.

She glanced around long enough to see the odd inhabitants of New York habituating the subway at this hour, and Riley curiously wondered if they were social outcasts like herself. Thankfully no one approached her and questioned why a seventh grader was alone and so distraught. She didn't know if she would be able to get the words out before she choked. _I could make up an excuse_, Riley thought, already fantasizing the encounter with the concerned stranger, but doubt returned. _It wouldn't be nearly as good as Maya's though_. The subway cars clanked and rattled to a stop in front of her, the sharp wind knocking her back into the physical world long enough for her to walk forward and grab one of the overhead handles before the doors closed shut behind her.

Shifting her balance as the train gained speed, her heart longed for her best friend's company. _After all, she taught me about the survival of these metal tubes_, Riley thought with a hint of humor. Sighing and leaning her head on her shoulder, the nerd's words came floating back to her...

_"You're like, our queen!"_

Queen of the Unpopular. Her Highness of Loserville.

Those didn't quite ring a flattering ring.

Staring yet unseeing, Riley watched the flashing of lights of passing platforms out the window of the car as she contemplated her situation. She had known she wasn't popular, that much was obvious. But she didn't consider herself quite so low as what she was nominated for tonight by Farkle and his band of merry men. Better yet, she had thought the complete opposite, that maybe she was one of the popular ones for once. After all, the invitation making its way into her hands in the hallway had seemed surreal compared to her expectations. If only she had known how wrong she was.

_I wonder what the other kids at school think of me, if this is really the crowd I'm supposed to belong to..._ Riley continued, departing for her stop and once again letting her legs become her autopilot on her journey home. She found herself jerking to a halt, one foot hovering over the step in front of her on the stairwell leading up the fire escape. _Oh God, and what about Lucas? _She took a step. Her eyes began to strain as she fought back tears threatening to rise to the surface. _What was I thinking, acting like I had a shot. We're on completely different social spheres... And Maya...__  
_

Riley tiptoed up the fire escape, not feeling quite brave enough to face her parents, to put on a fake smile and act natural, act happy, like the night had gone perfectly and the "party" she was surprisingly invited to earlier in the day had been a normal get-together with normal kids her age.

Riley slipped through her open window before promptly shutting it and turning on heel to lower herself onto her bed, not bothering to turn the covers down as she slipped off her shoes.

Rolling over, the thought returned:

_And Maya..._

Riley and Maya were inseparable, that much was certain. Her parents saw it, her friends saw it, and they had felt it since their first meeting.

_"I want to be just like you!" Riley said, smiling as Maya raised a signature eyebrow at her enthusiasm._

Maya had taught her a lot, showed her the ropes, had her back. She was cool, street smart, like a big sister.

But what had Riley done for her?

Suddenly, the door to Riley's bedroom opened. "There you are, honey," her mom remarked, smiling. Topanga leaned against the doorway, looking bemusedly at her daughter's odd sprawled position. From Riley's perspective, everything was upside down and her mom appeared to be standing on the ceiling. Kind of like her expectations for tonight.

"How did the party go tonight? Did you have fun?"

Riley plastered on a grin. "It was fine, I'm just tired. Dad has that test for class tomorrow on the Civil War, so I might just go to bed early tonight."

Her mom frowned. "You sure?" Her eyes scanned her daughter curiously.

Riley nodded. "Yeah. Just... too much excitement in one night. You know how it is..."

Topanga rolled her eyes in amusement. "I wouldn't say dishes and laundry is all it's made out to be." She kissed her daughter's forehead. "Sleep tight."

Riley, however, knew she wouldn't be sleeping contentedly that night. Her thoughts were buzzing, jumbled, confused. Sorting them out would take time. Good thing she had those eight hours to do so.

The door closed.

* * *

Riley awoke from her fretful sleep early the next morning, feeling sluggish and slow as she began her normal routine of getting ready for school. She spaced out in front of her closet a few times in deciding what to wear as her thoughts slowed down to the tempo of her movements. Suddenly everything became incredibly coherent.

Grabbing her needed notebooks and books from her desk and shoving them into her backpack, she slung it over her shoulder and departed for the kitchen, greeting her mother and Auggie with the typical bowl of only slightly edible oatmeal.

This time, however, she didn't sit around long enough for Maya to pick her up for school.

"You're leaving already?" Cory asked her as she started towards the door. "Maya hasn't even rang yet."

"Y-yeah, I know. She, uh, texted me this morning and wanted to meet up at her place. She overslept," Riley quickly fibbed. "See you at school, daddy!" she called as she closed the door behind her.

It wasn't long after Riley left that the familiar sound of a buzzer rang right at 7:00. "Maya." "Farkle."

Cory and Topanga exchanged confused glances as the tweens made their entrances.

"Hello, _lady,_" Farkle chimed, drawing the word out as usual as he flicked his hair.

"'Sup Mr. Matthews," Maya greeted, leaning against the doorway and hooking a hand in her jeans pocket. "You ready, Ri...?" Her best friend's name died on her tongue as she realized Riley's usual spot at the breakfast table was vacant.

"Um, Mr. Matthews, where's Riley?" Maya asked. Cory and Topanga once again exchanged glances.

"We were hoping you could tell us," Copy replied, his brow furrowing in confusion. "She said you two were meeting up."

It was Maya's turn to frown. Since when did Riley lie to her parents _and _avoid her? She knew Riley, and this wasn't her. Something was up, Maya knew that much for certain.

"Was she acting strange at all? She tells you everything, Maya," Cory added.

Maya shook her head. "I'm not sure, but I'll find her at school and find out what's going on. Leave it to me, Mr. Matthews."

Cory nodded. It wasn't exactly easy for Riley having her father for a teacher, so this way things could remain just the right amount of awkward for the both of them.

"Come on, Farkle," Maya said, dragging the twelve-year-old flirt out the door by his backpack.

"Ooh, I like my women strong," came his exclamation as the door shut behind them.

Maya and Farkle dashed through the subway entrance, tackling the stairs in record time as they hurriedly attempted to catch the 7:10 train to their destination. "Shoot, it had better not have..." Maya's voice trailed off as the catch the tail end of the string of cars disappear down the tunnel. "...left."

Panting and out of breath, Maya and Farkle sat on the small step as they awaited the 7:20 train. _Hopefully we'll make it to class in time_, she thought.

"Man," Maya groaned, this time aloud. "This sucks. I wonder what's gotten into her lately... she didn't even text last night. She always does... to ask if I want to come over for dinner with her family... or to do homework..."

Farkle was silent, listening to Maya without offering any input. After all, sometimes a best friend just needs to be a good listener. It wasn't until they were on the next train to school that he spoke up. "Well, Riley did seem kind of out of it after the party yesterday and bolted pretty fast. Maybe she was just too flattered by our opinion of her."

Maya raised an eyebrow as they clanked along. "_Our_ opinion?"

"Yeah, you know, the people at the party. Most of them were my friends from chess club, robotics club, honors club..."

Maya grabbed him by the collar, none too gently. Farkle's eyes widened. "Spill," she demanded. "What'd you do to my girl?"

Farkle swallowed at Maya's intense and protective tone. Of course Maya would do anything to protect Riley. "Well, y'see..."

* * *

Riley's subway ride was awfully lonely that morning. Instead of riding the subway with her best friend, as per usual, she sat in between two strangers and concentrated on counting down the number of platforms until her stop.

Her view was suddenly obscured by a familiar head of gorgeous blond hair, blue eyes, and a handsome smirk belonging to one and only guy she knew.

"Hi, Riley."

"H-hey, Lucas," Riley managed after some seconds had passed. "What're you doing here?"

Lucas shrugged nonchalantly. "Just heading to school, same as you. Figured it'd be faster riding the subway than walking thirty blocks. Don't you think so?"

"Uh... yeah. Sure."

Lucas' smile faded. "What's wrong?" he asked, noticing Riley's distant look centered on the floor. Lucas always looked forward to Riley's cheerful and quirky self. But even he had to admit that that trait was noticeably absent this particular morning.

A thought occurred to Lucas. "Oh, the party. How did it go last night? Did something happen to upset you?"

The mention of the party seemed to only make Riley more distressed. "I... it was... how do I... Ugh," Riley struggled to find solid footing in her sentences and they stumbled into each other, starting and stopping as quickly as they occurred to her.

"Sorry, Lucas," Riley said, standing up. "I just... need some time to figure things out, okay? I gotta go..."

"Riley, wait..." Lucas tried. But Riley was already heading in the opposite direction, weaved her way through the throng of New Yorkers, pushing her way away towards the exit.

Riley and Lucas had finally reached their stop for school.

* * *

"There you are," Maya whispered to herself, quickly spotting Riley fumbling at her locker and making a beeline for her.

"Shoot!" Riley suddenly banged her fist against the cold metal door of the locker. "Stupid thing won't open..." Maya heard her choke angrily. Maya stopped in surprise and observed the scene in front of her. Riley was hardly ever angry.

_Now is the time to step in_, Maya decided. Taking a breath and not quite as rushed as before, Maya stood behind her best friend and gently put a hand on her shoulder. "Riles... it probably won't open if you speak to it in that tone of voice."

Riley tensed up slightly but didn't turn around.

"Especially," Maya continued, grabbing Riley by the shoulders and moving her right slightly, "because _this _is your locker, not that one."

"Oh. That...makes sense..."

"Riley," Maya said gently, spinning her around to face her. Her concern grew as she caught sight of Riley's sad expression. "What's going on? You know you can't hide from me."

Riley stayed silent.

"Is this about what Farkle and his lame-o club members think of you?" Maya pressed.

The late bell sounded, ringing down the halls. Riley jumped at the timing of it. "We'd better get to class, don't wanna be lat-"

"Oh no you don't," Maya sang, grabbing Riley's arm before the brunette could bolt. "Not until you tell me what's been bothering you."

Riley sighed and stared at the _American Pageant _history book on the top of the pile in her hands as the number of roaming students in the hallways trickled down. "You probably shouldn't be seen with me. I'd only drag down your reputation or something..."

"What? That's crazy, Riley," Maya countered. "Come on, are you seriously going to believe Farkle's... _followers_, of all people?"

Riley shrugged. "I... I don't know. I feel like I'm back at square one or something. One minute I feel like I'm _finally _beginning to discover who I really am and that I'm on solid ground and then something comes and jerks the rug out from under me." Maya took a breath to interrupt but Riley pressed on, faster than before. "If this is what the world really thinks of me... that I'm some sort of loser... well, isn't there always the possibility that they're right?"

Riley's glazed and watery eyes met Maya's protective blue ones. "You and Lucas-you're cool and street smart and funny and... then I'm just sort of..."

"Riley..." Maya grabbed Riley's hands in her own, somehow bypassing the pile of books in her best friend's hands in the process. The school materials cascaded to the floor with a thump and a trickle of rolling pencils. Neither girl seemed to take notice.

"Don't say you're anything less than you are," Maya told her. "Which means you can't say anything less than caring, kind, honest, good, intelligent, or _the thing that makes me get up every morning_ and pick you up at seven o'clock sharp." Maya took a watery breath as Riley's face melted into a surprised and taken aback expression of gratitude. "You're always the one to... I don't know, help me with homework, or invite me over for dinner, or probably the one person in New York who doesn't freak out when people climb through their bedroom window."

Riley laughed. It was a small laugh, but a laugh nonetheless and Maya smiled as she decided she had one more push left in her before her impromptu speech came to an impromptu finale.

"Riley, you don't need to change yourself for the world. The world should change just by you living in it. You don't need their opinion. After all, mine is obviously the most important," Maya finished, her wittiness flaring.

Riley wiped her eyes and laughed once more. "Y-yeah. You're right." She stepped forward and embraced Maya in a tight hug. "Thank you. For everything."

Maya returned the embrace. "Love you too, little plant."

After a moment, the two girls pulled away. Maya linked her arm through Riley's.

"Shall we?"

"We shall."

Riley and Maya entered the classroom just as Cory was saying, "Now in events like the Civil War, it proves that one minority, one idea, one culture or one individual who ends up starting a revolution. _And sometimes_... its the one tap in the water that ends up sending ripples throughout the entire world around them. Sure, sometimes it fails."

Riley turned in her seat and her eyes met with Lucas'.

"Hi, Lucas."

"Hey, Riley."

Farkle and Maya smiled.

Cory continued teaching, reaching the climax of his lecture.

"But for that one group, none of that matters. Because they've already experienced their own revolution. And their perspective of that revolution is all that matters."

The bell rang and Cory smiled.

"This concludes our chapter for today. Tomorrow begins another one, another morning, and another revolution. Class dismissed."

* * *

**What did you guys think? This is my first shot at a _Girl Meets World_ fanfic, but expect more in the future. I have high hopes for this show and hope to see it soar through seasons like its predecessor.**

**Feel free to review or comment, converse or criticize.**

**Thank you for reading! I hope you all enjoyed.**


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